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Shaun Davies has retired from international duty at the age of 30. The scrum-half was the 431st Eagle and completes his time as a test match player with 27 caps and 23 points to his name.
His retirement call follows his recent appointment as player-coach for the Utah Warriors in MLR. His move from the Colorado Raptors to the Utah Warriors will see him involved in a third professional team in the USA.
As a player Davies played PRO Rugby for the Ohio Aviators in 2016 and for the Glendale Raptors (since re-branded as the Colorado Raptors) in 2018-2019.
Born and raised in Durban, South Africa, Davies moved to the USA where he attended Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. There he played college rugby from 2009-2012. These years saw him completing three-years residency to became eligible for the USA.
As an Eagle Davies made his debut against Georgia in the 2012 June Internationals. He did so in what was a 36-20 win in Glendale, Colorado. He faced Russia in 2013 in his second test match but would miss out on selection for RWC 2015.
His break-through year for the Eagles came in 2017 where he earned 10 caps. In 2018 he would earn seven, and in 2019 eight caps. His final cap was against France in Fukuoka, the Eagles’ second Pool match of RWC 2019.
With Davies’ having called time on his international career the RWC 2019-2023 cycle begins with opportunities for other scrum-halves. In Japan 2019 21-year-old Ruben du Haas was Davies’ replacement against England and France. du Haas then went on to start against Argentina and Tonga with Nate Augspurger as his replacement.
